SUNDAY TIMES ISLAMABAD: According to prime minister’s focal person for polio eradication, Babar Bin Atta, the first case was reported in a four-month-old girl in Hangu, while another case was detected in an eight-month-old boy in Lahore’s Shalimar Town area.
He said a total of four cases of polio had been reported in the ongoing year.
Atta said the Punjab government’s health minister had been informed about new polio case.
While announcing to soon pay a visit to Punjab, he said the teams would investigate the root causes of new cases of the crippling disease. Any official in the anti-polio teams found responsible will face strict action, he added.
He vowed to unveil the government strategy on anti-polio.
The surge in the number of polio cases has set the alarm bells ringing as Pakistan is on the verge of eradicating the crippling disease that has paralysed hundreds of children in the country.
Though concerted efforts are being made to interrupt the transmission of the poliovirus, it is still circulating in the environment, pointing to the gaps in the programme.
Earlier, the first polio case of the year 2019 had been reported from Bajour district on February 2, according to Focal Person to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Polio Eradication Babar Atta.